Bernd Klingner was a small-bore rifle shooter, who was coached by his father Armin. At the 1960 Roma Olympic Games Bernd participated in both events with limited success. Eight years later in Mexico-City he was the gold medalist in three-positions, setting a world record with 1,157. In 1972 Klingner finished 16th in the three-positions. He then failed to qualify for the 1976 Montréal Summer Games and retired in 1978. In 1959 Klingner had his first international success, winning gold at the European Championships, repeating as champion in 1963.
With his home club SG Bremervörde Klingner won 35 West German team championships and 25 individual national titles. Klingner founded and ran a mail-order business for shooting sports equipment and accessories in 1966, and wrote several textbooks on sports shooting.